Mayors Minute

This may sound familiar as I wrote a similar column at the end of the school year, but the topic has reared its ugly head once again. The topic of bullying has made it in the headlines once again with an e-mail sent to a local TV anchor in LaCrosse. Whether you think it is bullying or not, the concerns continue and I felt that it was appropriate to address the subject one more time. At the council meeting I read a proclamation raising local awareness to the topic, but action is up to you. If you are a bully, Stop! If you are being bullied tell someone. It was interesting to listen to my neighbors daughter, who is in the eighth grade, talk to my kindergartner grandson about the topic. She asked him who was bullying him and it was followed up by an immediate; you have to tell someone about it. We train our youth well, but do we listen? I fully realize that not all reported incidents may be classified as bullying by definition, but we need to hear their concerns and help them resolve their problems. Teaching problem solving is just as important as reporting the bullying incident. Wednesday marked National Unity Day which encouraged people to wear orange showing support for anti-bullying actions. Being this is our homecoming week I can safely say that we will probably be overwhelmed with a sea of orange and black. Maybe the color orange can have a much deeper significance this homecoming by encouraging our young people to stand by a friend when they see bullying occurring.

Remember the new system in the elementary school called "Pillars of Success" Character Counts! Lets build on those six pillars of success! Those pillars are: respect, citizenship, honesty, responsibility, fairness and caring. The philosophy includes a daily character pledge with classroom education on social skills as well as restorative measures. Maybe the time is now we expanded it community wide! As we have seen over the past few weeks this is not just a youth problem, but a dilemma for everyone. Bullying is an age old problem, but maybe its time we evolve into a society that no longer accepts this type of behavior? Or maybe we are just fine with the long term damage it causes? Either way the decision starts with YOU!

I challenged everyone in June and once again I urge you to seek out these pillars of success and let people know about their positive character. We are quick to point out when a co-worker or friend is lying or being disrespectful, but do we compliment people when they do something positive? Character Counts!

Just a reminder that Table Talk starts this coming Saturday, October 13th. We will meet in the back room of Dels Caf. The topics are open and I encourage people to get informed on city issues. The conversation starts at 9am and will continue through the morning.